210 LARGE GAME. chap. iv. 



in safety ; but a solitary individual in the middle of a 

 dozen of them, all perfectly furious, and making the most 

 frightful noise, is a little liable to get, as I did, perfectly 

 stupid and unable to run or think. I was not equal to 

 anything but to hide and lie still, and. I ascribe it to the 

 effect of the noise. 



After a time the herd seemed to join and retire further 

 back to windward, and as soon as I recovered my senses, 

 feeling certain that among the din I had heard the heavy 

 thud of a falling elephant, I went up to the spot where 

 the cow had been standing, and found that although she 

 had gone I had been right, and that she had fallen to the 

 shot ; and the few steps I took on her track disclosed so 

 much blood upon it that I felt justified in thinking that 

 she could not get away. I did not, however, I must own, 

 care about following the herd, with which no doubt she 

 would be, at this particular moment while they were still 

 so excited and roused by the smell of blood, and hoping 

 they might move and leave her by herself, I was just 

 turning to go out, when I heard a shot lower down. This 

 made the elephants trumpet again, and one of them 

 charged down towards me, making me, as I objected to 

 its getting my wind, take to my heels. After going some 

 hundred and fifty yards I heard another shot close by, 

 and on going towards it I walked right up to an elephant 

 without seeing it, standing in a clump of thick trees 

 which concealed it from me. I was quite close to it, and 

 it swung its trunk round and tried to seize me, but I 

 dodged and saw on looking over my shoulder that it was 

 disabled and could not move, and therefore concluded 

 that it must be the cow they had spoken of as having a 



